No 15

(The Departing of the Holy Spirit)

In the Upper Room in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down in the form of tongues of fire upon the 120 or so disciples who were gathered there. The Bible says in Acts 2:4 that “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” As all Christians know, this was the beginning of the Spiritual Church of Jesus Christ or, as the book of Ephesians says, the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4). However, at some point in time, God will remove His Holy Spirit from the earth and let antichrist completely take over; he will reign for 42 months according to Daniel 7:25 “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time” and according to Revelation 13:5 “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” In 2 Thessalonians 2:7, the Bible says: “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” The “mystery of iniquity” is the spirit of lawlessness that operates in society today. It is a mystery because it has not been fully revealed as it will be when antichrist, who opposes God so strongly, sits in the place of Jesus Christ in the temple of God (2 Thess 2:4). The words “until he be taken out of the way” convey a stepping aside rather than a complete removal. God will give Satan a free hand in the world but will be soundly defeated by the King of kings and the Lord of lords when He returns to set up the Millennium kingdom.